Ramblings

It has been a busy summer. The garden is doing well so I have spent time canning beans, relish, and now peaches. Next week I will be freezing squash, picking blueberries to freeze and hopefully putting up some pickles. Soon the corn will be ready and that will mean a corn shucking party in which my kids all shuck the hundreds of ears of corn and have some friends over to help with it. I have taught another VBS in which I had 12 3yr olds and they were the best. This was a church that had VBS for the first time and they were very successful and had 146 kids attend! It was the best VBS I have ever taught at. They were very well prepared and the kids all had a great time. I have also been busy getting my school supplies for homeschooling. Ebay has become my good friend in that I am able to get the kids books sooo much cheaper this way. I finally have them all gathered up and we are looking forward to starting back to school next month. My oldest is looking forward to going back to school and they have a new HS that they finished so it will be all new to her. Exciting to say the least. We attend orientation next week for it as she starts back the week after. Next month will be the start of school, football season, and dance classes. Whew, fall is a busy time for us but it will be a lot of fun. Now for some pictures.

"Peek a boo, I see you!" My oldest took a pic of her sister hiding in a tree.


Here is my 3yr old swinging in her new pretty little dress. I love hearing the swish swish of her dress brushing against her legs as she runs through the yard. We have been playing outdoor games in the evening after it cools down and she looks so cute running around with her pig tails flying out behind her!



This beautiful butterfly was found after he came out of his cocoon. They had discovered the cocoon and had been watching it and came out one morning to see the butterfly had emerged from the cocoon and was drying out his wings. He jumped right on my sons finger when he put it down beside the twig the butterfly was on.

This was the last picture of him before he flew off to join the rest of the butterflies flying around the gardens. My son went and took the cocoon so he would have it for his collection of nature items.

Tenth Avenue North Concert

Tonight we attended a Tenth Avenue North concert that was in town. They are a Christian group that I hear a lot on K-Love and other Christian radio stations. They are an excellent band and play some of my favorite songs like "By Your Side" and "Love is Here" and many more. If you are not familiar with the band you can find them at: http://tenthavenuenorth.com/

They really performed well and their songs have great messages behind them that really move you. Even when they spoke to the audience they had a message for you. It was just a very good concert. This is my second Christian concert and I prefer them over any other concerts I have been to. The kids all were every excited to see them including my 14yr old. They got up and danced and clapped and sang along to the music and had a wonderful time. Even my 3yr old enjoyed it. My oldest took her brother and cousin up front so they could see the band up close which they really loved. It was a wonderful way to end the day!

Pool Time!

A friend of mine who has two children that I used to babysit and our good friends of ours invited us to spend the day with them on Tuesday at the local pool. We had never been and we decided to accept her invitation and go. It was excellent! The pool had many fun things for the kids including a water slide! We spent 4 1/2 hours at the pool just enjoying each others company and the lovely cool water on such a hot and humid day. Everyone went down the water slide including me with my 3yr old as it was the first thing she wanted to try. It was a big hit with all the children. Here is a picture of my son splashing into the pool after coming down the water slide.



There were a lot of people, but you still had plenty of space to swim and it was not too crowded. I was greatly pleased with this new fun outing and will be taking my children back soon. It was a great inexpensive way to enjoy a hot summer day. My kids are already asking to go back. Here is my daughter and her friend enjoying the shower tower in the pool. It also had buckets on top that would fill up with water and spill over onto you as they became full. I discovered that the hard way while I was following my 3yr old out of the pool. It was a shocking yet pleasant surprise! It definitely cooled you off. You cannot see the bucket tower in this picture, only the shower part. This whole area was enjoyed by young and old alike.


We had a great day and look forward to returning for another day of fun in sun! Especially since we are in the middle of a horrendous heat wave.

July 4th Weekend Wrap=up

We had a busy weekend with family up for the holiday. We were able to see a wonderful fireworks display at a festival held in a town close by. It is nestled in the middle of nowhere but you would have never known it with all the hundreds of people who were there. It was well worth it. They had bands that played and we were able to hear some of the last band that played as we did not arrive until right before dark. We enjoyed listening to the music as we waiting for the fireworks. The fireworks display was a LONG one and a great one. The kids were very happy with it and so were all us adults. I saw some friends and enjoyed myself immensely. The only thing missing to make it a great night was my hubby. Here are some of the pictures from that fun festival.

Above you can see my children with their cousins and uncle sitting down waiting for the fireworks to start. The kids all made t-shirts to celebrate the occasion and wore them to show their holiday spirit.

Above you can see my 3yr old making crazy faces with her light up bracelets. She is a mess as you all well know. A lovely cuddly crazy little mess. :)



The next day my sister and I took our oldest boys along for a 5 mile round trip hike up to a flat top tower at our favorite hiking place. It was a beautiful day and the breeze was perfect in keeping us cooled off during our hike. It was well worth the hike and I look forward to doing it again very soon! The scenery was beautiful and breathtaking! It was such a peaceful place and we enjoyed it very much. Here are some photos from our hike.


Here is a picture of some of the wildflowers we saw growing along the way. There were many different kinds of flowers but these were my favorites.


Here we are looking out over the beautiful countryside at one of the many wonderful viewing areas we found along the way. My son is trying to look like a pioneer checking out the landscape. :)


This is the tower that is situated on top of the mountain. I don't know what I was thinking taking this hike as I am afraid of heights, but I braved it and climbed all the way to the top and immediately sat down as I was a bit dizzy upon looking out at the view. It was well worth it though and I would do it all again.


Here is one of the views. I was sitting down for the picture as I did not trust my legs to stand up nor did I want to release both hands from the rails I was holding in a death grip so instead I took this one handed picture.




I finally did get the nerve to stand up and I took this picture of the other view from the tower. As I said before, it was worth the hike and climb up the tower and I look forward to doing it again.


On the way back down the boys stopped to take a break and enjoy the view. This was the only sitting they did the whole hike and I can assure you that they slept very good that night as they camped out in their tent in the lawn. I could hear them snoring from my bedroom window. :)


This is my sister's oldest son, my sister, and my son posing for a picture in the field on our hike.



We also spent time down at the river of course. How else do you cool off on such hot days? The kids all had a tube and enjoyed floating along down the river. At the end of our swim time I took some pictures of the kids being silly. Here is one of my 7yr old after she collected the tubes. She looked like the Michelin Man!


Here she is again minus some of her tubes, but wearing her swim goggles. One of my sisters twins decided to paint his face with some soot from a leftover campfire and this is the result. I like to call this picture "alien girl meets warrior boy".



Well I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed July 4th weekend!

Fun Summertime Visit

We have been having fun with my nephews this week. We have made crafts, went down to the river each day to swim and look for neat river creatures, went to the park, and played lots of baseball. Each night has ended with a massive firefly catching in which the youngest 3 catch a jar full of fireflies to light up their bedroom. My 3yr old loves fireflies and has become quite a good catcher of them. Collin has excelled in both firefly catching and snail catching and my fish tank is proof of his talent as I have about 20 teeny tiny snails suctioned to the sides of it. I am waterlogged and definitely ready for bed when the day ends. Now if only they were..... Alas they seem to have a never ending supply of energy which I have yet to figure out how to tap into. If I could I would be rich that is for sure. :) I have taken lots of pictures throughout the week so here are a few of what I have captured.

Above is Tristan riding my the rip stick at the park. My son had the skateboard and they would keep switching back and forth between the two. They had fun riding around the walking track.



Above is my daughter and her cousin Collin planning their fun. They had a reptile book and a magnifying glass and were in search of snakes. Go figure. We used to have plenty back at the house but this week we have not seen any. I guess kids are good at keeping snakes away! All that running around and shaking the ground must scare them away. :)



Here is my youngest riding her Dora trike. This was my 7yr old's and has lasted quite a while. Longer than I ever thought it would. She looks so cute riding it and she loves to take it along to the park.


Here is Tristan down at the river doing his favorite past time which is throwing rocks. He is pretty good at skipping rocks too. Every day they beg to go down to the river. They will not relent until I pack every one up and take them. I think they have started to grow flippers at this point. :)


Here is Collin sitting at a small rapid in the river searching for snails. He found plenty and we had to leave some behind at the river as my fish tank has enough.


Here my two youngest are sharing a ride on the Dora trike while at the park. It reminds me of the Big Sister Little Sister book that they love to read. They are so cute!


Here is my 7yr old checking out the reptile book. They consulted this book often but found no snakes thankfully.

Here was the highlight of their day at the park, the river. This was right before they all jumped in. They cannot stay out of the water, it is a kid thing. It is just to tempting to pass up. Plus their was a nice rapid that they could ride down between two rocks that was a lot of fun!


This is how Tristan occupied his time, moving rocks. Take a look at Tristan's face. He decided to move all these big rocks in the river. For what reason I do not know, but look at how he is straining to move this big rock! He cracks me up.


That is just some of the fun we have had this week. I hope everyone is enjoying the summer and is planning a great 4th of July weekend! I wish my hubby could come home for it, that would make for a perfect holiday weekend.